


The Harrow: Crossroads

by DotaroVSJio



Series: The Harrow [3]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Abuse, Amity Blight Needs a Hug, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, Borderline Personality Disorder, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Not Beta Read, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Amity Blight, Self-Harm, Swearing, Torture, shits gonna go down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:48:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28509936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DotaroVSJio/pseuds/DotaroVSJio
Summary: "Three months ago, Luz managed to ‘convince’ Belos to heal the glyphs on her skin, in exchange for her no longer being allowed to use his portal to the Human Realm. Since then, the voice inside Luz’s head--that cynical, pessimistic, rude voice was growing more and more quiet with each passing day. Thanks to the combined efforts of Amity and Luz, the human felt like she was really healing from the trauma of it.But there were times when she could hear the voice."This is a sequel to my story 'The Harrow', so maybe check that out first if you haven't.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Series: The Harrow [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042170
Comments: 7
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> cw// blood, torture, panic attack, PTSD
> 
> Hoo boy, I'm back.  
> What started as a long-ish one-shot somehow evolved into a full blown sequel. While the first story does end in a pretty good place, there's so much I want to tell about this AU that I'm continuing on.  
> First of all, this is going to be much darker than the original, with much darker themes and content in it. While the tags aren't quite complete yet, that's the majority of what we'll be dealing with in this story, so turn away now if any of that makes you feel uncomfortable.  
> Welp, I'm gonna save the rest of the notes for the end. Enjoy the story!

###  Chapter One

The witch walked through the dark forest, wary of any demons that might come out of the shadows. He’d already been harassed by a flutterspider, and wasn’t really happy about the occasional mating call of a super eagle.  _ You can make it, Sora,  _ he thought,  _ the cabin’s just a little bit further, right?  _ Overhead, a storm threatened to crash down onto the isles. Sora eyed the boiling rain clouds warily, beginning to think that this was a bad idea.

For the past couple of weeks, Sora had been having issues regarding an assignment for his classes. His Oracle assignment was to figure out how to divine a person’s true feelings by observing their eating habits, whatever that meant. He’d had no luck figuring any of that out, making him feel like a failure of a witch.

Then, he’d suddenly heard a rumor. Apparently, there’s a witch in the woods not far from Bonesborough that can grant anyone’s wish for a price. Sora didn’t know what that price was, so he’d just grabbed some snails on his way out. He also wasn’t sure if it was the best idea to use this witch’s power to pass some random assignment that probably won’t have much effect on his career, but it’s worth a shot, right?

Eventually, Sora came to his location--a small, rundown shack.  _ Why would anyone live in a dump like this willingly?  _ Having lived in a large mansion for the majority of his life, Sora had trouble believing why someone would want to live in such a small building. 

The door opened rather smoothly, which Sora wasn’t expecting. He braced himself for it to screech against the wooden floorboards beneath it, but felt like the place was actually being cared for rather well. 

“Um, hello? Does the Harrow live here?” Sora called out as he scanned the main room. It was only about two seconds when his eyes fell upon two people, sitting on the floor on opposite sides of a small coffee table. Between the two of them were several playing cards, though it didn’t seem like they were playing Hexes Hold ‘Em. They both looked at Sora, wide-eyed, as if they’d just been caught in some unspeakable act. The staredown lasted for just a few more seconds before Sora spoke once more.

“Uh… I think I have the wrong address…” He slowly closed the door, making sure that the two individuals could get back to their game(?) in peace. Sora looked around. Maybe he had taken a wrong turn somewhere?  _ How many small, decrepit cabins can there be in one forest? _

This wasn’t the first time someone had come to Luz’s cabin, expecting to see the Harrow. In the three months it had been since Luz gave up the whole ‘miracle-working-wish-granting-mildly-scary witch’ deal, she began to realize just how many people figured a wish would solve all of their problems. It was unnerving, to say the least, that so many witches would put their faith in some urban legend to help them out. Luz wasn’t one to judge, though. She sighed, then placed down her cards, face up. She was teaching Amity how to play 21. She grinned, confident in her hand.

“A five, a six, and a nine make 20. Beat that, Am.” Amity narrowed her eyes at Luz before smirking and laying down her own hand. Luz blinked at it, disbelief immediately showing on her face. Amity had an ace and a ten. A perfect 21. Luz looked from Amity to her cards multiple times before groaning and slumping in her chair.

“I win again, it seems. Good effort, Luz.” Amity, if anything, was competitive, and Luz seemed to be the perfect match for her when it came to this sort of thing.

“How do you win 21 seven times in a row?! I even shuffled the deck in between rounds!” The human couldn’t believe her girlfriend’s luck.

That was a weird thought.  _ Girlfriend.  _ Luz had only first met Amity about four months ago. She’d had crushes before, but none of them were quite like how she felt when Amity walked through her forest. She felt like she could relate to the witch--in the end, it turned out that she could. The two of them were far more alike than Luz thought. Even if Luz herself would likely never have been bold enough to pursue Amity on her own, for one reason or another, the Harrow took quite a liking to her, and here they were.

Right. The Harrow. The  _ last  _ thing Luz wanted to think about right now. Thanks to the witchling that had just come in looking for it, though, it was now the first thing on Luz’s mind.

Three months ago, Luz managed to ‘convince’ Belos to heal the glyphs on her skin, in exchange for her no longer being allowed to use his portal to the Human Realm. Since then, the voice inside Luz’s head--that cynical, pessimistic,  _ rude  _ voice was growing more and more quiet with each passing day. Thanks to the combined efforts of Amity and Luz, the human felt like she was really healing from the trauma of it.

But there were times when she could hear the voice.

It would be because of something small, usually. Maybe Luz stares at the room that holds all of her ‘payments’ for wishes for a second too long. There was one time when Amity brought up something that related to a wish she granted. Nothing to make her go too deep.

She’d hear the voice then, though, feeding ideas into her head, reminding her of the people she’d hurt, of the hell she went through in the Human Realm and the Demon Realm. The voices didn’t always affect her in the same way--sometimes she’d be able to block it out immediately. Other times, it would send her into a depression for days at a time, and Luz could almost feel herself regressing back into that horrid personality.

Luckily, though, she was no longer alone with it.

“Luz?” Amity’s voice knocked Luz out of her thoughts. She looked at the witch, who was setting the deck of cards down after shuffling. One of her hands reached under the coffee table and fell into Luz’s own hand, fingers intertwining. She gave a comforting squeeze. “You alright?”

Whenever Amity would comfort Luz through her episodes, she could immediately feel the tears begin to build up. Amity already had an incredibly stressful life, based on what Luz gathered during their interactions, and it was amazing of her to put aside any of her own stress and anxieties to instead make sure Luz was okay. She smiled at the witch, grateful for the affection and care.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just a little, ya know…” She motioned to her head in a vague manner, but it got the point across. Luz then let out a small chuckle. “Maybe I should put up some signs so I could maybe get less people looking for wishes. You’d think that me turning away everyone who comes would do something to kill the rumors about this place, but I guess not.”

Amity did find that part rather strange. It’s been three months since Luz last granted anyone a wish, yet she still got at least one person a day coming to ask for a wish. “I guess when a rumor becomes something more of an urban legend, it takes longer to really disappear?” Luz groaned at the thought and laid her forehead on the table. 

Sighing, Amity figured it was time to put the game away. She stood up and dragged Luz along with her to the sofa on the edge of the main room. When Amity started to spend more time in Luz’s cabin, she figured it was time for the room to get a new look. The couple then spent about a week finding new furniture for the cabin. They removed the aging chairs and replaced them with a small couch, along with a coffee table that Amity’s parents were throwing out. The amount of pictures on the walls had increased, as well, showing off pictures of Luz and Amity in addition to Luz’s mother.

Despite the great effort the two of them made to make the living room and kitchen look nicer, the other two rooms in the cabin were currently untouched. One of them was a nigh perfect duplicate of Luz’s room in the Human Realm, complete with a bed, posters, figurines, the works. The other one was full of artifacts, jewelry, and other payments Luz had been given as payment for her service.

Amity wasn’t really sure what to do about those rooms. Luz very rarely entered them, at least when Amity was around. She was worried that Luz probably wasn’t getting good sleep by just sleeping on the couch, but she also understood if the human didn’t want to sleep in a room that reminded her of what she could no longer have. The other room probably didn’t do much to stifle Luz’s depression, either.

The two of them now sat on the couch, bodies held close together in case one of them might suddenly disappear. Amity noticed that Luz’s hold on her was tighter than usual. The thoughts she was having must have been especially bad. Amity wrapped her own arms around Luz with equal emotion, making sure to tell Luz that she wasn’t going anywhere, and that she was here to help.

Despite it being midafternoon, the two of them quickly fell asleep, content to let slumber take them in their current position.

Luz opened her eyes to find herself in her cell. The Emperor’s Castle was always cold. She wasn’t sure if that was because it was some medieval place without any heating, or because Belos simply preferred it that way. The place was built on top of a giant corpse, after all. The chill that went down Luz’s spine felt almost natural, like it was the only thing she had felt for a long time.

It had been long since Luz lost track of the days she’d been stuck in this hellhole. One of the walls of her cell was covered in tallies, so many that it would take Luz more time than she cared for to count them all. She wondered if anyone else in the castle was keeping track of that for her.

Soon enough, the door to her cell opened and Lilith stepped in, along with two more guards. Luz looked at them with a tired look, trying to tell them she wasn’t up for any practice today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day.

However, the look Lilith gave Luz told her that today’s session wasn’t up for discussion. “The emperor has come to a revelation regarding our current predicament, and he’s eager to test his theory.” The tall witch knelt down in front of Luz and gave her a sorrowful look. “Don’t worry. We aren’t going to do anything that will hurt you. Remember, human, this is for the good of witch and human kind, right?”

_ Liar.  _ Despite her thoughts, Luz nodded. She managed to stand on her feet, taking a few shaky steps. She looked up at Lilith. “Okay, I’m ready.”

The four of them swiftly made their way to the laboratory. Normally, Luz’s training sessions took place in a special ground built by the Construction Coven. Luz was put off by the sudden change in location and shuddered to think about what they were going to do to her.

Luz had been training for a while, now, and while her mastery of the glyphs presented to her was already showing, there was still one hurdle to overcome; the paper she drew her glyphs on would always be consumed when she activated them. It wasn’t that much of a problem, as far as Luz was concerned. So long as she had spare paper, she’d be golden. Not only that, but the parchment wasn't consumed until she actually activated the glyph, which meant she could keep a light glyph in her pocket for as long as she wanted to before she felt like she needed it (though it would be pretty cool if Luz could tattoo the glyphs to her skin and activate them that way).

Which meant that she was slightly nervous to see what Belos had planned for her. It was rare for him to partake in the human’s training sessions, and he set her on edge whenever he was around. Belos was tall, even for a witch, and managed to make Luz feel like she was suffocating with just his voice. He was the last person she wanted to see, especially now.

Despite hating the time she spent here, Luz had to admit that the castle was expertly crafted. She didn’t know much about the Boiling Isles, other than what Lilith or other guards would sometimes teach her. This place was built by the Construction Coven after Belos declared himself emperor and took control of the realm, ending the ‘Savage Ages’, whatever  _ those  _ were.

Luz found herself staring in wonder at the style and craftsmanship of the castle. The place still held its certain charm of wonder that it did when Luz first arrived. The way the halls bent around each other made it feel like a maze, but Luz found it hard to get lost in it, as if the walkways were guiding her to wherever she needed to go. Not that she had many places to go, anyway, but there were days where she was allowed free reign to explore to her heart’s content.

Those were the only days where Luz really felt like she was living in a world full of magic and wonder.

All too soon, the group came to the laboratory. As one of the guards opened the door, Luz could physically feel her heart drop when she met Belos’s eyes. He stood with another guard, who was moving a table with a cloth over it beside what Luz could only describe as that chair you’d be sitting in when you go to the dentist, or something like that.

“There you are, Luz. I was beginning to think that you weren’t told of my revelation. Come quickly, human, for I’m rather eager to share my hypothesis.” Belos’s cold voice felt like Luz was talking to a robot. When she thought about it, they shared a lot of the same characteristics--emotionless, polite tone, extremely imposing. His staff was even mechanical, a stark difference to the wood that made up the staves of any other witch Luz had seen before. There was also the large, mechanical portal in the castle’s lower floor. Part of it  _ had  _ to be magic, Luz was sure, but she had no idea how Belos could’ve built something like that in this place. Any questions she had about it were either dodged or ignored.

Luz was directed to sit in the chair. It was at an odd spot between comfortable and uncomfortable, but Luz was used to her extremely stiff mattress in her cell, so as far as she was concerned, this was an improvement. It stopped being so when Belos began talking again.

“Lilith, make sure the human is restrained properly.” The emperor’s command made the shorter witch blink in surprise. She glanced at Luz, who was looking at Lilith with fear in her eyes.

“My lord, i-is that really necessary? I mean, with how cooperative Luz has been with our tests thus far, I’m sure she isn’t going to try moving or running away.”

It was at that point that the guard removed the cloth on the small table to reveal a set of tools. Thanks to her mom being a nurse, Luz immediately recognized them as medical tools. Among them were a few scalpels of varying sizes, along with a pair of medical scissors. Luz’s already wide eyes opened even further, but she found she was unable to say anything out of fear.

Belos continued talking. “I’ve been told this method may be slightly uncomfortable for the human, so I want to make sure she doesn’t squirm or move around and ultimately ruin the process.” Lilith exchanged one more look with Luz before sighing. She drew a spell circle and Luz immediately felt her body stiffen. She attempted to move her arm to swat away the guard that was approaching her, but found that she couldn’t even flex her muscle.

The guard turned her right arm over, her palm facing up, and laid a paper with a glyph into her hand. Luz recognized it as a fire glyph. It soon occurred to her what they were planning to do. She attempted to speak up, but her jaw was unyielding to her attempts, thanks to Lilith’s magic. Another guard twirled his finger, and the paper seemed to stick completely to Luz’s skin. The same witch picked up one of the scalpels and approached Luz.

As far as Luz was concerned, time had just grinded to a snail’s pace as the point penetrated her skin. She felt a searing pain in her hand, and her voice rang out. Her blood curdling scream didn’t seem to phase the guard, who continued to trace the glyph on Luz’s hand with the scalpel. The glyph glowed slightly, and Luz’d hand began to burn. It felt like the searing heat of the fire was seeping beneath her skin, spreading throughout the entire area of her hand.

Tears had begun to form in Luz’s eyes. Belos watched the witch tracing the glyph carefully. She was surprised the guard didn’t buckle or slip under the pressure of the emperor’s gaze. Out of the corner of her eye, Luz saw Lilith turned away from her, as if attempting to block out the human’s cries of pain.

Eventually, the guard raised the scalpel and set it back on the table. He then removed the paper on Luz’s hand. The spell restraining Luz’s body also vanished, but she found that she had barely any energy to move her body. She raised her shaking arm to look at it. Blood dripped from the glyph, falling onto Luz’s shirt. She also felt her tears sliding down her cheeks. Her gaze moved towards Belos, horrified at the thought process this witch must have had in order to come up with this idea. His own blue eyes were looking at Luz expectantly.

“Come now, human. Focus your energy into the palm of your hand, and picture yourself throwing the fireball.” His lack of empathy reminded Luz of where she was. She wasn’t in a fantasy world where anything was possible. Instead, she was a guinea pig for these evil witches.

Tears still building behind her eyes, Luz placed her feet on the ground. She nearly fell over as her legs buckled underneath her. One of the guards rushed to her side in an attempt to help her. One of his arms reached around her shoulders, and the other absentmindedly grabbed the hand with the glyph on it. Instantaneously, the glyph glowed a bright orange, and a large explosion soon followed in its wake. The witch who attempted to help Luz was sent flying back, slamming into a wall.

That was the last thing on Luz’s mind, however. The moment the glyph on her skin activated, she felt a searing pain jolt through her hand. It felt like she’d just dipped it in molten lava, and the skin was melting off of her bones. She cried out once more and completely fell over. At this point, Lilith had rushed to her side, setting her hands on Luz’s shoulders. Luz barely managed to open her eyes to see Belos conversing with another guard who was writing down notes.

That was when she’d heard it.

A voice in her head that wasn’t her own.

_ Bastards… I’ll kill you… How dare you make me suffer more than I already have... _

And then her eyes truly opened.

When Amity was woken up from her rather peaceful slumber, she was expecting it to be from a kiss on the forehead from her girlfriend, or maybe the smell of the delicious food Luz makes. She certainly was not expecting it to be because of Luz suddenly screaming out, as if in pain.

As Amity opened her eyes, she saw Luz’s own eyes wide with fear. Her breathing was incredibly erratic, and she was clutching her right hand with her left. Tears were sliding down her cheeks, and sweat was beginning to build up on her forehead.

Amity stared at Luz for a split second, unsure of what exactly was happening, before she realized. Luz must’ve had a nightmare. Cautiously, Amity raised her hand and went to put it on Luz’s shoulder, being careful not to make any sudden movements or noises that might startle her.

When her hand did rest on Luz’s shoulder, however, she yelped and leapt forward, away from Amity’s grasp. The two stared at each other, never breaking eye contact. A few seconds passed before Luz realized where she was. She wasn’t in that damned castle anymore. She was far away from the cell, the laboratory, and the emperor. Right now, she was in her cabin, spending a once peaceful afternoon with the best person she could ever ask for, Amity Blight.

_ Wh... Why did I have to dream about that  _ now _? _

“Sorry, Amity, I just... a bad dream, yeah. That’s it.” Luz wasn’t sure Amity was convinced that it was just a ‘bad dream’. She had a hard time believing that herself. The experience had felt so... _real_ to her. She slowly turned over her right hand to look at her palm.

It was completely blank. She let out a shaky breath, then trudged back to the couch where Amity was still sitting, a worried expression across her face. She snuggled up to the witch and wrapped her arms around her, feeling Amity’s own arms place themselves tightly around Luz’s waist. They stayed in that position for about two minutes before Amity spoke up.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Amity’s voice was low and calming. To Luz, it was the audio equivalent to being wrapped up in the warmest, softest blanket in the world. Still, she could hear the worry it held when Amity talked. Luz revelled in the sound before realizing that Amity had asked  _ her  _ a question.

“...No,” she said, “not right now. Sorry, I just... it’s a bad memory.” Luz shuffled around to find a comfortable position, then rested her head in Amity’s lap. She looked up at the witch, a small but unsure smile on her face. “I’m glad you care, though.”

Amity smiled back, then considered what had just happened. The two of them took naps together like that many times before, and the human had her fair share of nightmares, but none of them seemed to have been as bad as that. The way Luz was holding onto her hand, as if it was in pain, was unsettling. Perhaps she was reminded of a time she had the glyphs on her skin? She once mentioned how they caused her pain every time she activated one, so maybe that was it?

She could spend her time guessing and theorizing all she wanted, but she wouldn’t know the truth until Luz told her. And while she very deeply wanted Luz to talk to her about her troubles, she knew that if she forced the answers out of her, Luz would only feel worse about it. They’d have to take it one step at a time. You couldn’t cheat the road to recovery--you couldn’t fly across it with your staff, or take big jumps. You have to walk, or else you’ll quickly end up right where you started.

And the two of them were going to be together for every step of it. Because even if neither of them quite realized it, Luz was helping Amity become a better person, just as Amity was helping Luz heal from her darker days.


	2. Slowly Thinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity's school life has been getting better since she met Luz, but there are still some hurdles to overcome. Specifically, the hurdle of her friends wanting to try finding the human living on the Isles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: this fic is saved in my google as 'harrow 2 electric boogaloo'

Since meeting Luz, Amity had begun what she could only describe as a new chapter of her life. She’d stopped partaking in the bullying that Boscha and her gang were known for, and even started breaking away from that group entirely. She couldn’t completely sever contact with them, else her parents might get suspicious of what’s happening at school.

Then she was beginning to befriend Willow once more. It was a long and slow process, and Amity was losing hope after the first couple days of cold stares and Willow ignoring her. Luz encouraged her, though, especially after hearing about their falling out, and Amity felt a new determination inside of her, and it was all thanks to Luz.

The way the human had set out to fix everything about her after she’d hurt Amity was so… incredible to Amity. Sure, she had to fight the fucking  _ emperor  _ in order to get those ‘accursed glyphs’ removed from her skin, but that was what really amazed Amity. The fact that Luz was brave enough to face off against Belos, and strong enough to back him into a corner, was just one of the things Amity loved about her.

It inspired Amity to change herself, as well. She would never tell Luz this herself, but there were times when Amity felt that she had to be just as strong as Luz in order to truly earn her affections. It wasn’t that Amity felt like Luz wouldn’t care for her if she didn’t, but she felt more like she had to live up to the expectations Luz had given her (albeit accidentally) during their first month anniversary dinner. What was it again, that Luz had said? ‘Love at first sight’? It was a strange idea, but Luz couldn’t have been more on the nose. The two of them were more alike than Amity had initially realized.

_...I saw a little bit of myself in you. Someone who’s expected to be what other people want you to be. What they expect you to be. Your opinion doesn’t matter--they just want to project themselves onto you. _

That was what Luz said to Amity. And it couldn’t have been more true.

So when Amity saw Willow and Augustus sitting on their own at lunch, compared to Boscha’s near full table, she steeled her nerves and began walking. It would’ve been easy to sit where she was comfortable, surrounded by people she could zone out to, only needing to give her opinion or voice when her name was actually said.

But Amity was done with going through life on ‘easy mode’, as Luz had once said. So, she set her eyes on Willow’s table and continued on her path. She could feel the stares she got when she passed by Boscha’s table, especially the potion witch’s three-pointed glare on the back of her neck. She shoved the rather sinister feeling aside and kept walking.

Unfortunately for the young Blight, Willow’s table came up faster than she thought it would’ve, and she found herself forgetting what she was going to say when she arrived. Willow and Augustus both looked up at Amity, eyebrows raised.

Augustus was unused to one of the ‘Hexside Elites’ so casually approaching him, especially with the same kind of frequency as Amity Blight. He found he was intimidated by her presence alone, even if she wasn’t trying to come off as intimidating. Despite that, the illusionist had grown somewhat used to her appearances, and was beginning to be able to converse with her. She’d seemed to show genuine interest whenever he’d bring up things he’d heard about humans. Sometimes, the Blight would even contribute to the conversation, either to deny one of his facts or bring up her own. It was a nice change of pace from Willow, who didn’t do as much to entertain his endeavors.

On the other hand, Willow was rather unsure of what to think about Amity. She’d formally apologized for breaking up their friendship all those years ago, and also seemed to be trying to make up for the bullying she’d put ‘Half-a-Witch’ through. Willow appreciated that, but it all seemed so… sudden. Willow herself had never approached Amity about their relationship, content to think that the two of them will pretty much constantly be on opposite sides of the world of witchcraft.

So when Amity first came to her, she was suspicious. Most of her responses to whatever Amity said were stares or maybe even the occasional grunt. She considered it a sort of test--to see if Amity would keep up the attempts at conversation. And she did, sort of. She would ask for Willow’s opinions on some things, but also spent an odd amount of time conversing with Augustus about humans. The amount of knowledge she had on the topic was surprising to Willow.

Despite all the trials or tests Willow put Amity through, she couldn’t find any hint of malice or ulterior motives to her friendliness. She was just being nice to be nice. And if the look Boscha gave Amity when she began walking towards their table was any indication, she really was trying to change for the better.

The only question remaining was what brought this up? What could’ve set off a spark inside Amity to make her realize that her way of life was ultimately destructive to her and everyone else around her? Willow didn’t like prying, but she had to admit that she was truly curious about the sudden change.

Amity stood a step away from the edge of their table. She took a quick breath before speaking. “Do you guys mind if I sit with you?”

Though Willow knew what Augustus’s answer would be, the younger witch looked to her for her permission. It was Willow who had all that background with Amity, not Augustus. Thus, the decision was more hers than anyone else’s. She held Amity’s gaze for a few seconds before relenting.

“Sure.”

Amity smiled rather brightly at the invitation and set down her tray. The table they were sitting at was round, so she took a seat in between the two of them. There were a few awkward moments of silence as the three ate before Augustus resumed whatever conversation he was having with Willow before Amity arrived.

“So do you think they’re still out there? That human we saw?”

Amity choked on her food. Augustus quickly bent around her and began patting her on the back, helping her get rid of whatever was in her throat as she coughed. The other two witches sighed in relief once Amity signaled she was okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She coughed just a little bit more before asking the obvious question. “So, uh, you guys saw a human?”

Willow seemed like she was about to deny the accusation before Augustus so quickly spoke up. “We did! A real human, right here on the Boiling Isles! It wasn’t what I really expected--she had all these weird markings on her skin, and I didn’t get to ask any questions… but her ears were so  _ round _ ! Can you believe that?  _ Round ears?  _ It was honestly kind of hard to believe, but you can’t argue with real, live proof.”

Yep, he was definitely talking about Luz. Amity almost slipped and told him that she was still around, but that would probably mean revealing that she goes to visit the human every other day. 

Amity heard Willow sigh. “Augustus, we still don’t know if they were actually a human. Whoever that was, I don’t think they were all right in the head. They could’ve been playing some sort of trick on you, for all we know.”

This was a dangerous conversation for Amity to be a part of. She’d nearly leapt out of her seat to yell at Willow for claiming that Luz was insane, but managed to stop herself. In Willow’s defense, she was  _ kind of  _ right. Luz was still dealing with the Harrow when the two of them visited her cabin, and they asked a pretty sensitive question, considering how Luz was still trying to hide her being a human from Amity.

But that didn’t mean that Amity couldn’t get upset over it. Luz had made a lot of progress in the past three months since that day. For one thing, she was much happier with herself lately, and she was getting pretty good at using the paper glyphs instead of reflexively going to tap one on her body. She was getting so much better!

...Then again, Willow and Augustus would have no idea of Luz’s development, since they haven’t been to see her since that day. In fact, when Amity thought about it, the human had no frequent visitors, other than herself and, occasionally, her elder siblings.  _ Does Luz want more friends,  _ Amity wondered.

Luz sat on the couch, writing in a journal Amity gave her. She suddenly sneezed, then looked around.

“Huh. That’s weird.”

“It was kind of weird--they’re only known as the Harrow, and apparently they can grant wishes, but I’ve never heard of humans being able to do magic.” Augustus tapped his chin, deep in thought. “Then again, they did  _ technically  _ grant my wish to see a real life human, so maybe it’s true…”

Amity’s eyes darted around as she responded. “Well, uh, it was probably just a coincidence you asked that of them, since they were a human, heh…” Despite Amity not sounding convinced by her own answer, she figured she needed to say something after being silent for longer than she usually was.

Willow looked at Amity with furrowed brows, as if trying to decipher any hidden meanings in that message. Augustus, however, paid very little mind to Amity’s clear lack of confidence and responded.

“True, but I have heard of some people who’ve actually had their wishes granted. I wonder how she does it… Maybe we could--”

“Augustus, no, we’re not going to see the Harrow again.” Willow seemed to have read Augustus’s mind. Amity’s eyes widened at the prospect of that plan.

Augustus threw his hands in front of him. “Hey, for all we know, she’s not actually dangerous!” The look he got from Willow told him she was not convinced. “Okay, so she has some weird markings on her skin, and kinda freaked out when we talked to her, but maybe she was just tired! We did go pretty late at night.” He motioned to Amity. “And we could even take Amity with us! She’s super strong, she could help protect us if we need it!”

Amity was ready to deny that claim entirely before she saw the look she got from Willow. It was hard to describe, but if Amity had to put it into words, then she’d probably go with consideration. Willow couldn’t really be thinking over the idea in her head, could she!?

“Don’t bother, losers. That Harrow person is dead, or whatever.”

Boscha’s voice sounded like a Construction witch trying to play an instrument. All three pairs of eyes met with one trio of eyes. Boscha stood over the ‘losers’, arms folded in front of her. The rest of her gang stood behind her. Skara offered a polite wave to Amity, who waved back. She then focused her attention back on the Potions witch, unsettled by her words.

“And what’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean, Boscha?” Amity was proud of herself for managing to regain her composure. Now she could actually contribute to the conversation without stammering over her words.

Boscha scoffed. “Exactly what it sounds like. I went there about three months ago to see what it was all about. The only person that lived there was just some kid, not the walking whiteboard everyone was talking about. They’re the one who told me the Harrow was dead.”

Amity could feel emotions flare inside her as Boscha so blatantly insulted Luz like that. She managed to calm herself down and forced herself to listen as Augustus began talking again.

“Well… she did seem pretty young when we went to visit. But why would someone kill the Harrow? Seems pointless to me.”

_ Not pointless at all, actually.  _ Though Amity had wanted to stay silent, she found herself unable to keep her mouth shut any longer.

“Good story, Boscha, but I have a question: how could some kid kill a witch? Sounds pretty dumb to me. Then again, that’s about all you could come up with, isn’t it?” Amity had to be careful not to say more than she meant to. After all, she knew a lot more about this story than all of them put together.

The three-eyed witch snarled. “Fine. If you don’t believe me, then why don’t we all go visit the cabin after school tomorrow? What better way to get your information at the source, right?”

Surprisingly, Willow was the first one to respond. “Sure, why not? It won’t hurt to try, and with so many of us there, they can’t do much against us.” Boscha’s eyes flew to her, eyes wide. She quickly collected herself and laughed.

“Wow, Half-a-Witch, sure you’ll be able to handle it? I mean, you don’t think it’ll come down to us to carry your tired body back after you use all your magic on one little spell?”

For the record, the Blight family wasn’t one for senseless violence, but Amity was prepared to throw her entire family name out the window when Boscha insulted Willow like that. Thankfully, the Blight family was also known for being able to stay calm in even the worst situations, so Amity was able to control herself before she  slapped a bitch  hurt Boscha in some way. She was also impressed by the way Willow seemed to just ignore the comment as she looked to Amity and Augustus for any protests.

“What do you guys think? Should we go?” One could’ve easily seen the way Augustus’s eyes lit up when Willow asked them. The younger witch’s answer was obvious. In the end, it came down to Amity.

_ I’m not one to turn down an excuse to see Luz, but what’ll these people do if they know that I’m dating not only a human, but some ex-urban legend wish granter?  _ Especially with Boscha going there, word could easily travel all the way back to Amity’s parents. Sure, Edric and Emira had gone to Luz’s with Amity on a few occasions, but they’d been a lot nicer to Amity lately, so she knew she could trust them. The witches before her, however, were all wild cards.

_ But if I say no, I’d probably get called out as scared or something like that…  _ Since when did Amity start caring about her image, though?

... _ Probably when my parents started dictating every single thing I did and threatened to take away everything I love if I don’t comply. _

_ That sounds even worse in my head. _

Originally, Amity only went to visit Luz every other day so she didn’t raise suspicion, but she figured she’d have to make a trip on her way home to tell Luz that she was going to have lots of visitors tomorrow.

“Sure, why not?”

“Wait, you want me to do  _ what _ ?”

Luz had every right to be concerned about Amity’s ‘plan’, which was to simply have Luz pretend that she had no idea who Amity Blight even was. Amity sighed, drinking a cup of apple blood at Luz’s kitchen table as the human worked on a puzzle at the coffee table.

“Look, I know that it’s not the most perfect plan, but it’s the best I could do under short notice like this.” She looked up at Luz with a sorrowful expression. “This isn’t what I want, Luz, but if word about us spreads, then my parents could do some really bad stuff to you. And I don’t want them to hurt you.”

The idea of Alador and Odalia Blight really finding out about Luz shook Amity to her core. The only ‘Luz’ they knew was Boscha’s cousin, and though they had quickly forgotten about her after her appearance at their anniversary, Amity had still heard one of their offhand comments on how Luz was an… ‘interesting’ character, putting it lightly.

Thankfully, Luz was rather understanding of Amity’s home life, and knew just what the Blight parents could be like from what their children had told her. She was quick to get up from her position on the floor and walk over to Amity, grabbing her hand and smiling brightly at her.

“It’s okay. I understand, mi amor. I appreciate you being so worried about me. It’s pretty cute, actually.”

Amity blushed at that. Even after a few months of being together, Amity found herself unable to properly react to some of the things Luz did. Despite that, this was a rather pressing matter, and the witch knew that.

“I’m glad you understand, Luz, but are you okay with it? I mean, I know you haven’t exactly been feeling the best lately, and I don’t want to cause you any more stress than you’re already going through.”

The truth was that there was a little piece of Luz’s brain that told her she shouldn’t be okay with it. It said that if Amity was really serious about their relationship, then she wouldn’t care who knew about it and would fight tooth and nail to protect her. Who gives a damn what her parents think?

_ We know better than that. Amity has her future to worry about, and that’s more important than me. _

_ Not like I have much of a future besides being some creepy hermit in the woods. _

Not only that, but Luz ended up having another nightmare the previous night. It detailed the night she made her escape from the Emperor’s Castle. Though it was less vivid than the one she had when Amity was visiting, it still made her wake up drenched in sweat and uneasy the rest of the day.

So when Amity surprised her with a visit, only to tell her that their plans for tomorrow were going to be cancelled because of some argument that broke out between Amity’s two friend groups, Luz was less than excited. The two of them wouldn’t get to cuddle up on the couch and read  _ Azura _ , or play a random board game Luz snatched from somewhere, or make delicious snacks. They’d have to pretend that they were meeting each other for the first time. That couldn’t be good for a girl’s mental health, especially when she’s still recovering from some pretty terrible trauma.

_ No. Tomorrow isn’t about me--it’s about Amity, and she’s counting on me to make sure it goes smoothly. I can be a good host, right?  _ The last part of that thought made Luz think harder.

“I guess I’ll have to make sure I’m ready for guests tomorrow. This place could use some dusting, right?” Amity laughed at Luz’s comment. Of course, even in such a dire situation as this, she would see the bright side of it.

Maybe tomorrow wasn’t going to go as horrible as she thought it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated with myself for a while on whether I should split this chapter in two or not, but I wanted to get this out before school started again, which means I ended up having to. I still like this one, though, even if it doesn't offer much in the way of developments.  
> This made me wonder, though: Do you guys prefer longer chapters, or would you rather have these shorter little things? The story would be about the same length either way, and I could write this AU for days right now, but I want to make this experience fun for everyone, including you guys.  
> In other news, I'm looking for beta readers. If you're interested, message me at dotarovsjio@gmail.com. I appreciate it!  
> Next time: Luz faces her ultimate test: hosting a small get-together.


	3. Host

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz has a few witches over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally unrelated, but I've been watching Jujutsu Kaisen lately. Fun show!

That same night, Luz dreamt once more. It had started out relatively normal; Amity came over to visit, and brought Edric and Emira with her. The four of them played a party game Luz snagged from one of her visits to the Human Realm, though it turned out that the Demon Realm actually had their own version of Twister. They tried to play both versions, but Luz found she didn’t have enough limbs for the Demon version.

Then the dream suddenly warped. Amity, Edric and Emira suddenly vanished, and Luz found herself sitting in one of her old chairs as the door opened. Through it stepped a taller witch wearing a cloak over their body. It seemed like they were running, as Luz was able to hear them breathing heavily.

A voice rang out, but it wasn’t the witch’s. It felt like Luz was speaking, but she wasn’t able to recognize the voice. Was it her tone? It felt familiar, as if she was used to speaking in this voice. A name suddenly came to her, though she didn’t know where it came from.

“What’s the rush, big guy? You in a hurry?” The Harrow’s voice felt like it was meant to be taunting the witch who’d walked in, but Luz was more offended by it.  _ How dare you say that with my throat? _

The witch didn’t remove their hood, making it hard for Luz to see their face. They took a few steps towards Luz, but stopped at what she guessed was a respectable distance.

“You’re the Harrow, are you not? You grant wishes, yes?” Their voice was masculine and heavy. Luz could practically feel the weight of the words press against her, but she had a slight feeling it wasn’t because of the voice.  _ The Harrow… what’s that? _

“Indeed I am. You have a wish for me, then?” Luz felt left out, like she was missing something that she was supposed to understand. She felt stupid for not knowing what was happening here. 

But she couldn’t speak. Any words she attempted to say died before they could escape her throat.

_ What is this? Who are you? What’s happening!? Please, tell me! _

The tall witch nodded, his head almost bumping against the ceiling. “I have a wish, though I’m not sure you’re willing to do such a…  _ heavy  _ task.” Luz could barely see his eyes dart around, trying to look at anything but her. Even when his eyes did fall on her, it didn’t seem like he was looking at her, but rather at something behind her.

The Harrow cackled, throwing her head back. Luz could feel it happen, but she wasn’t the one who’d asked her body to do it. “Oh, trust me, witch, you’d be surprised at what I can get done. Simply ask and pay, and it will be done.”

Despite her words, the witch still seemed uneasy. Luz could hear him gulp before he opened his mouth once more.

“I need you to kill someone for me.”

Then it was dark.

Luz woke up in a cold sweat. She quickly swept the room, attempting to find the interloper in her home who’d just asked her to do such a terrible thing. The cabin was empty, but Luz wasn’t sure if it was better that way. She then began to take in everything around her. The early sun had begun to creep from behind the mountains, a sliver of its light beaming into Luz’s home. The couch was still underneath her. Her clothes were damp from Luz’s sweat, and she felt like she was suffocating in them.

_ What… was that? _

Since that first dream happened when she and Amity were napping on the couch, Luz found herself unable to sleep without being forced to relive one of the many memories she’d lived. First, it was when she had her very first engraved glyph. Then, the day she made a deal with Belos after a long fight. Finally, just last night, was one of the wishes Luz had tried her damndest to forget.

When she was asked to kill a person.

All at once, the memory came flooding back to her. The witch who’d come to her was someone in the Oracles coven, and was close to becoming leader, if it weren’t for the then current leader watching his every move. So, he had an idea--hire someone she couldn’t possibly see coming. He came to the Harrow with a rather powerful artifact: a pocket watch that can freeze time for up to ten seconds. It was quite the tool, but the Harrow had only ever used it once. Luz never used it.

She rubbed at her eyes, attempting to erase the horrible memory from her life.  _ I can’t think about that now,  _ she thought,  _ I have to get ready for today. _

Five witches were currently standing in front of what used to be the Harrow’s cabin--Willow, Augustus, Boscha, Skara (who got dragged along by Boscha), and Amity. School had only ended about fifteen minutes ago. Boscha insisted that she be the one to ‘lead the idiots to their stupidity’, but no one was really willing to deal with her today, so they went along with it.

Perhaps it was because none of them quite knew exactly what they were getting into. None of them besides Amity, of course. Luz had gone into pretty deep detail about how she was going to make delicious snacks for everyone, lay out a few games, and just have a nice chat with everyone. It was so cute that Amity didn’t have the heart to tell Luz that she’d probably be too busy getting grilled about all the wonders of humans by a certain Human Appreciation Society president.

Even so, she was incredibly nervous. Sure, Luz had  _ agreed  _ to pretending that neither of them knew each other, but would they actually be able to keep up the facade? Amity shuddered at the thought of any of the people around her realizing that she had a  _ human  _ girlfriend.

“Well, losers, we’re here.” As Boscha spoke, there was a series of sounds that were probably things falling over inside the cabin. Amity felt a small smile creep along her face.  _ She always gets so surprised by everything…  _ Her face soon bloomed with red as she realized she had an audience. Boscha rather aggressively knocked on the door. It was silent for a second, then footsteps came from behind the door. Soon enough, it creaked open, revealing Luz behind it.

If the other witches weren’t there, Amity probably would’ve bolted to Luz’s side when she saw the human. Though small, dark circles were beginning to form underneath her eyes, and her hair was rather disheveled. Her appearance was in stark contrast to how put-together she’d seemed just a few days ago.  _ How much could’ve happened in less than a day? _

Luz blinked at the group. “Um, can I help you?” To Amity, she really seemed like she wasn’t expecting them to show up. _Something definitely happened._ _Is Luz okay?_ Amity stole a glance at the other witches. Willow and Skara had somewhat indifferent expressions, slightly put off by Luz’s appearance. Augustus had grabbed onto Willow’s sleeve and was shouting something along the lines of ‘it is her!’. Boscha had her traditional scowl and folded arms.

“Yeah, hi, whatever, does the Harrow live here?” Boscha’s voice held that ever present sense of rudeness and apathy. Amity almost didn’t notice the way Luz flinched, not only at Boscha’s voice, but also at the mention of the Harrow.  _ This was a bad idea… _

Luz’s eyes focused on anywhere but the witches in front of her, instead opting to look at a nice tree to their left. “Uh, no, sorry, the Harrow, um, doesn’t live here anymore…”

Augustus piped up from the side. “But you  _ are  _ the Harrow, aren’t you? I remember, cause me and Willow came to see you a few months ago! What happened to the marks on your skin? Are you  _ really  _ a human?”

Though the questions were rather insensitive, Luz let out a small chuckle at Augustus’s antics. “Y-yeah, I  _ was  _ the Harrow. I gave up on that whole thing. Got rid of the things on my skin and everything.” her eyes scanned the rest of the witches quickly before she continued. “And, yes, I am really a human.”

Lu suddenly heard the voice in her head.  _ Hey, I remember those two! They’re the ones that started this whole nightmare. Let me at ‘em! _

_ Shush, you. I’m trying to be nice, here.  _ Luz gulped, then spoke once more. “Um, if you guys aren’t busy, would you like to come in? I don’t really get many visitors anymore, and I made snacks!” She stepped to the side and opened the door further. Despite having prepared so much, there was a small part of Luz that hoped they would just leave now so she could focus more on herself.

The Hexside students glanced at each other, as if exchanging words with mere looks. Augustus and Willow were locked in an especially intense staring contest, with both witches attempting to convince the other to go along with their plan. Eventually, Willow sighed, then nodded.

Augustus practically leapt with joy. “Yes! I can’t believe I’m going to get to learn from a real human!” He bolted through the door, the rest of the witches soon following. Amity went in last, exchanging a look with Luz. The human smiled at her, trying to tell her that she was okay, and that this was all going to be fine.

Though she trusted her girlfriend with all her heart, Amity had a hard time believing that.

“How did you get here?”

The two hours were going by relatively smoothly. The treats Luz prepared were devoured within a few minutes, and Amity could tell she was beaming that her cooking was so appreciated. The time had pretty much turned into Humans 101 as each witch asked their own questions for Luz. Augustus especially was excited to be learning all about this fascinating race. He was furiously writing down notes, mentally preparing a presentation for his next club meeting.

“Can you do magic?”

Boscha herself asked very few questions, and would send a glare towards Skara if she every piped up herself. The bard commented on how familiar Luz looked, but the human was quick to dismiss it. Amity questioned why Boscha herself didn’t seem to recognize Luz, considering the human had infiltrated the Blight parents’ anniversary party disguised as her cousin. She definitely needed to ask the twins what they did to get Boscha to go along with that, and why Boscha didn’t remember Luz.

“Why do you live all the way out here?”

Of course, there were some questions that Luz was less than excited about answering, and instead opted to dodge it or ‘pass’, as she would say. Amity was impressed by how well Luz was doing, but was also worried that this interrogation was taking its toll on her. She’d already seemed worse for wear when they arrived, and the witch was worried.

“What’s your diet like?” Augustus was asking some of the more generic questions that involved humans in general, rather than any specific ones regarding Luz’s backstory. She seemed relieved at the simpler questions that didn’t require her to dig up past traumas.

“I’ve found that I can eat most of the same foods you guys eat, with some modifications. I still throw up whenever I try to eat terror trout, though.” Luz shuddered as she remembered the first time she tried it. Edric and Emira brought it over, also curious on how a human could eat Boiling Isles cuisine. When she immediately vomited the dish onto the floor, they were very apologetic.

Willow was pleasantly surprised to find she was enjoying herself here. She was glad that Augustus--now demanding he only be addressed by his ‘human nickname’ Gus--was having fun, but also found Luz rather easy to talk to. She was friendly, cheerful, bouncy, and just the right amount of bashful.

The only problem was that there was definitely something Luz wasn’t telling them. When asked if she had any ‘regular’ visitors, she was pretty quick to say no, but Willow barely caught Luz’s eyes flicker to where Amity was sitting. Something was going on between the two of them, but Willow knew better than to pry. She figured Amity would tell her when she was ready. Their friendship still wasn’t entirely fixed; they didn’t have to share every single secret they had with each other.

Boscha would also notice the way Luz would quickly glance at Amity every once in a while. At first, Boscha attributed it to Amity’s look--objectively speaking, she is rather pretty--but she then noticed what would happen whenever the two of them would make eye contact. It was almost impossible to spot, but having three eyes made it easier to notice the smaller details. Like, for example, how Amity’s cheeks would just slightly turn pink when they looked at each other.

She also caught Amity staring at Luz when she’d start rambling on about whatever topic the question was about. The way she looked at her was unlike any look Boscha had seen on the young Blight before. There was an unspoken…  _ something  _ between the pair, but Boscha wasn’t able to really put a finger on it, so she let it fester in her head without asking about it.

“So what made you stop being the Harrow?”

To Luz, the question came completely out of left field. One moment, she’s a solid five minutes into describing how human health works, and the next, she’s suddenly asked  _ that _ . It didn’t even register in her brain who’d asked it. A few seconds of silence passed, then Luz heard a voice in her head.  _ The  _ voice.

_ Sure, why don’t you tell them? I’m sure they’d  _ love  _ to hear about how evil their little emperor and his little coven are.  _ Luz knew better, though. There wouldn’t really be any point in telling them. Not right now, anyway.

“Uh, well, y-you know, heh… It’s just, uh, well…” Her hands had begun to fidget with each other, unsure of where they should be. It was the same with Luz’s eyes. They never lingered on anything for more than a second, avoiding eye contact with anyone. “I think, uh, I pass on this one.”

Boscha suddenly stood up, surprising everyone with how aggressive the gesture had seemed. “No, you don’t  _ get  _ a pass on this one. All you’ve done so far today is just answer questions for little human fanboy here, and haven’t told us anything that actually matters. Why’d you stop being the Harrow? Why’d you take on that shindig in the first place? So you could just steal from other people without really giving them anything in return?”

Amity was horrified. Luz seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack, and was just slightly backing away from Boscha. Her breathing was growing more and more rapid. She took another look at Amity, expecting her to step between her and the fang-baring witch advancing on her. Amity, however, stood there, wracking her brain for a solution that didn’t involve letting her secret out.

_ Should I summon an Abomination and pretend that someone else did it? No, there’s no one else around here for miles. But Luz is in danger! But if I hurt Boscha, or do anything, really, she’ll definitely suspect something! What the hell can I do!? _

“Alright, guys, I think it’s time for us to head home.” Everyone’s heads whipped towards Willow, who was now staring down Boscha with a rather cold gaze. “Luz seems tired, with good reason, we’ve all just been asking her questions without really doing much.”

The standoff between Boscha and Willow lasted for only a couple more seconds before the potions witch snarled and stepped away from Luz, who was starting to relax, albeit little by little. Boscha grabbed Skara’s hand and headed towards the door, storming out as Skara said a small goodbye. Gus gave Willow a pleading look, but quickly realized there was no victory in store for him.

“See ya, Luz, it was nice to meet you!” He bounded to the door, going through his notes and muttering to himself. Willow followed, but stopped before she was completely outside. She turned towards Luz, who gave her a questioning look.

“I’m still not entirely sure about you, Luz, but for what it’s worth, this was nice.” She then smiled. “I’ll see you soon?”

Luz blinked at Willow, then realized she was asked a question. “Oh, um, sure, come by anytime you like! I’ll be here!” Willow nodded, then looked to Amity. It then registered that Amity had been standing still for that entire exchange, and she quickly broke out of her trance and began walking to the door. Once she was sure Willow wouldn’t hear anything, she turned to Luz.

“Sorry,” she whispered, “I’ll come by tomorrow.” Luz nodded at her, and left the cabin, closing the door behind her.

Unfortunately, Boscha was leaning her back against the cabin wall, so politely waiting for everyone else to get outside, and managed to catch what Amity said. She didn’t comment on it, but realized that Amity was definitely hiding something, and it had to do with that little human.

But what could it be?

Luz had never felt more glad to be alone. Well, she wasn’t sure if that was the right word. Thanks to a certain someone, she was never truly alone, being forced to live with a cynical voice inside her head 24/7.

Maybe… quiet, then? No, that wasn’t quite the word, either. It was strange, but the wave of relief she’d felt when everyone cleared out of the cabin wasn’t entirely foreign to her. She’d get the same feeling when anyone who had a wish for her would finally leave. So why couldn’t she explain this feeling?

The next thing that hit Luz was exhaustion. That caught her off guard--she wasn’t tired just a few moments ago, when she was talking to everyone. Even so, she’d felt this before, as well. She was always tired after granting someone’s wish, and would usually just fall asleep on one of the chairs. She remembered an especially exhausting wish. Why’d she have to introduce Bard Battles in the first place?

_ Sleep. That sounds like a good idea.  _ Luz trudged to the couch and plopped down onto it, face first. She then closed her eyes, preparing for slumber to take her for the evening.

…

_ Hang on. _

Luz suddenly bolted up, having just realized the weight of those thoughts she had.

“Tired after having to ‘deal with’ some witches, wishing they would leave, and being glad when they do leave? Why the hell would I be having those thoughts?”

_ Because they weren’t your thoughts to begin with, idiot. _

For once, the voice was unexpected. Luz even sat up and looked around for whoever was speaking before she realized it was her own head that was doing the talking. She groaned, then fell back onto the couch. She wasn’t in the mood for this today, but she realized she probably didn’t have much of a choice.

_ It felt just like the good ol’ days, didn’t it? Those witches were  _ so  _ curious about you. Answering all those questions was almost like granting their wishes, hm? Especially the youngest one. He seemed way more interested than anyone should be. _

“Shut up. I don’t feel like dealing with you right now.”

_ And that’s the same, too. My, it’s almost like removing your glyphs and getting a cute little girlfriend wasn’t immediately going to solve every single problem you have. _

“I know that. Getting rid of you is going to take time. And while it’ll take way longer than I would’ve liked it to, at least I can go through the days knowing you’ll eventually be gone.”

_ Will I, though? How do you know I’ll leave? So long as you have those little negative emotions of yours--inadequacy, doubt, hatred, etc, I’ll be here. _

Luz pondered that for a second. It made sense, really. The Harrow  _ was  _ born from Luz’s underlying thoughts of how bad the ‘adult world’ was, and was only fueled by the experiments she suffered at the Emperor’s Castle. The only way she’d be able to completely get rid of that voice would be to wipe her memories of those events, or do something much worse that Luz didn’t want to think about.

She didn’t want to think about anything, really, so she just closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Personally speaking, Amity figured that their little meeting could’ve gone worse. Sure, Gus’s continuous questioning probably tired Luz out a little, and Boscha’s outburst was definitely dangerous, but given Willow’s reaction, Amity figured it went alright.

Now, there was just the problem of figuring out what the hell had made Luz so tired in the first place. She seemed completely worn out when they all arrived, and almost appeared to be completely unprepared for their arrival. She briefly wondered if Luz’s nightmares were getting worse.  _ Maybe waiting until tomorrow to see her again is a bad idea… _

A knock on Amity’s bedroom door knocked her out of her thoughts. She looked down to her homework, soon to be completed, and figured she could use a break. “Come in,” she called, cleaning up her textbooks and school supplies.

Emira entered the room first, with Edric following closely behind. “Hey there, Mittens. How’d your little afternoon get together go?”

Edric grinned, his smile warning Amity that she was about to be subjected to copious amounts of teasing. “I bet you were just dying to go up and kiss your girlfriend. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, as you can’t reveal your secret little life to anyone.”

Amity flung a book at him. It gracefully whizzed past his head, falling to the ground. “Would you guys keep it down? Mother and father could hear you both at any moment!”

“Calm down, Mittens, they’re not going to hear a thing.” Despite Emira’s reassurance, Amity was glancing at the door warily. “Still, though, we wanna know. How’d it go?”

As Amity relayed the events of the day to the twins, they exchanged a few glances when she would get to various points. They seemed especially worried when she told them about Boscha’s little outburst.

“As much as I want to punch Boscha in the face for that,” Emira said, “I doubt she’d ever go back to Luz’s house after that. We should probably just make sure Luz is okay.” The setting sun told Amity that she probably shouldn’t, though. Thankfully, the twins picked up on Amity’s uneasiness.

“You don’t need to worry about mom and dad, Mittens,” Edric assured her with a pat on the back. “They’re gonna be out till morning thanks to some coven business. You should go talk to her.”

Amity nodded, taking one last look at her homework. She normally finished it the day she got it--letting it sit on her desk would sometimes give her anxiety--but it could wait for now. Luz was her girlfriend, and always took priority.

When Luz’s eyes opened, she was standing in the cabin. Instead of the couch that was normally up against the wall, the two chairs Luz threw away a long time ago sat there instead. The fire was burning viciously, a deep shade of blue.

The overall tone of the cabin reminded Luz of her time as the Harrow. There was always this… suffocating feeling of doom hanging over the building. It kept Luz from getting sleep, from being able to have a good day, from thinking happy thoughts. In the past few months, it was starting to go away, as if Amity and her siblings were blowing fans to clear out the fog that overtook it.

_ So I’m in a dream, then, right? _

“Technically speaking, yes, this is a dream.”

Luz looked to the chair, where the voice had come from. Sitting in there was a figure. Luz could only see their arm, but it was covered in what she realized were glyphs. Blood threatened to break from them, but never did. Luz then figured out who this was.

“Wait, are you…?”

The figure stood up, and turned to face Luz. Before her stood herself, but not quite. The glyphs that once filled Luz’s skin were still there, and she wore a smirk on her face. Her hair was also longer, covering her ears. As much as Luz didn’t want to believe it, standing there was--

“The Harrow, yes. Nice to see you, Luz.” The Harrow looked at Luz almost like she was its prey. She refused to be intimidated, however.

“I’d say the same, but it really isn’t.” She looked around the cabin. “So what do you mean ‘technically speaking’? How can something technically be a dream?” 

The Harrow walked past Luz, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Your negative emotions, combined with the magic of the Demon Realm caused something to sprout from you. Not quite a split personality, but something along those lines.” It then swept its arm towards the cabin. “Consider this to be my subconscious--I invited you in here when you fell asleep.”

That confused Luz. Sure, people could develop split personalities, but could it really be to the same effect as the Harrow? With its own subconscious? She briefly wondered if the Boiling Isles had something like that, as well.

“Okay, that’s a bit confusing, but I can kind of get it.” She focused her attention back on the Harrow. “But why, then? What’s the point of bringing me here?”

The Harrow’s smile grew, and it just shrugged. “Who said there has to be a point to it? Maybe I allowed you in here because I was lonely, or maybe to entertain myself. Who knows?”

There suddenly came a muffled sound from above. It felt like thunder, but sounded more like a knock on the door. The Harrow looked towards the ceiling, then sighed.

“I suppose you better answer that. We’ll talk another time, Luz.”

Everything suddenly went black, and Luz opened her eyes. The fire was out, and she could hear knocking on the door. She went to the door and opened it, surprised by the sight.

“Amity? What are you doing here?” She was confused by Amity’s sudden appearance, and that feeling was only intensified when she saw Edric and Emira behind her. Amity suddenly pulled her in a tight embrace. Luz reciprocated the motion and closed her eyes, enjoying the contact with her girlfriend. It felt like a drink of hot chocolate after being out in the cold for a long time.

The two of them stayed like that for a while before separating. Amity cleared her throat. “Sorry about today, Luz. It was obvious that you were already tired, and we just made it worse for you.”

Luz laughed, and ushered the three Blights into her home. “It’s fine, Amity, really. Honestly, I had fun, aside from whatever Boscha was trying to do.”

“Ugh, yeah, that girl’s totally a wacko,” Edric said, “more than you were, honestly.” The comment earned him a jab in the ribs from Emira. “Right, sorry.”

Amity scoffed at Edric’s antics before returning her attention to Luz. “Are you okay? Did you have another nightmare last night? Is that why you were so tired?”

The nightmare of last night suddenly played in Luz’s head. It was an awful memory, but even she realized that letting it simmer inside of her without doing anything about it wasn’t going to solve the problem.

“Yeah, I did. I’m not really sure why, but it feels like these have been getting more common. It’s kind of been making life difficult for me.” She guided Amity to the couch where the two of them snuggled up to one another, Luz wrapping her arms around the witch.

Emira offered a sympathetic look to the human. “Would it help if you talked about it? I know it can be scary, but we can’t really do much if we don’t know what’s going on.”

Luz nodded solemnly. “Yeah, I should probably tell someone about this.” She detached herself from Amity and sat up straight. “Honestly, I probably should’ve talked about this a long time ago, but…” She looked down, trying to figure out exactly how to start this conversation.

“...I’ve killed someone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a heavy note to end on, eh?  
> Anyway, I'm told a lot of you guys prefer the longer chapter formats. Most of the chapters here are already longer than the ones in the first part of this series were, so we'll see exactly how that evolves. I'll still be ending chapters when I feel like they should end, but that could change.  
> Are the line breaks a good enough indication of a POV change or a scene change? I should probably actually do something else for that.  
> Next time: Luz gets some therapy.


	4. The Cloud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: If you are suffering from anything like PTSD, please get some help. Whether it's a professional, a family member, or a friend, they're here for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. Uh. Hi?  
> Sorry for being gone for so long. I really didn't meant for that to happen. I... don't really know what happened, I guess. I thought I was making good progress on this chapter, but the time slipped away, and before I knew it... *gestures to this whole thing*.  
> Anyway, I'm alive, don't worry! And I haven't abandoned this project, either!  
> More notes at the end! Enjoy chapter four!

Amity wasn’t entirely sure why she didn’t think of having a sleepover with Luz before tonight. Probably because her parents would’ve suspected something. But now wasn’t the time for that, even if it was a school night. The moment Luz told the three Blights about her nightmare, they bolted into action. While Edric and Emira ran to Blight Manor to get Amity some supplies for the night, the younger one stayed behind to talk to Luz about her trauma.

Amity remembers six months ago when it was announced that the leader of the Oracles coven had passed away. Pythia was a prodigy, being able to divine the unknown with the tiniest bit of magic. She could read a person’s mind using just a tree branch. Her magical talent was so great that the emperor himself had talked to her about joining the Emperor’s Coven on more than one occasion. She always refused, however, saying she would serve a different purpose than his. She never told anyone what that purpose was.

When Pythia died, the Oracles coven was, ironically enough, thrown into complete disarray. For a type of magic that specializes in seeing ahead, very few people were prepared for the shift of control from her to Nostradamus, save for, well, himself. It seemed like he was prepared to take over the coven. Foul play was immediately suspected, but no one could find any evidence of his involvement with Pythia’s death, so he was ruled out.

Of course, even when he was first labeled as a suspect, it was obvious no one from the Oracles coven could’ve done what had supposedly happened. Pythia’s body was found in her main office, and the room itself was completely trashed. Melting ice, scorch marks, shattered glass, and so much more was laid around the room. This wasn’t any sort of fight an Oracle could put up.

Witches from all the other covens were interrogated, primarily Construction witches, but even a few bards were brought in. In the end, any and all suspects were cleared. Even the Owl Lady was ruled as innocent, having never murdered before. Thus, Pythia’s death was finally ruled as an accident, and the investigation was closed.

But now… Amity knew what happened. She, Luz and Nostradamus were probably the only people in the entirety of the Demon Realm who knew how Pythia really died. That was a terrifying thought, and it was only made worse by the fact that she couldn’t do anything with this information.

Well, she could help Luz, at least. Amity couldn’t even imagine what it must’ve been like to live with something like that. Luz was only sixteen, for crying out loud! And who was Nostradamus, anyway, to come to some random ‘witch’ in the woods and ask them to kill someone? That’s not something you do every day, let alone at all!

And yet, Luz did it. Why? She could’ve said no at any time, denied the person their wish, and be done with it. Amity sat with some anticipation as Luz struggled to find the right words. She eventually spoke in a low, quiet voice, as if worried to even speak.

“I don’t know. To be completely honest, I don’t know  _ how  _ I did it, either. When it happened, I had this weird, long discussion with the Harrow about whether or not we should accept it. We decided to sleep on it, but when I woke up…” Luz reached into her back pocket and pulled out a rather elegant looking pocket watch. It had an intricate floral design covering the actual clock, and Amity could only assume that it was plated with real gold.

“I can’t remember ever using this thing. I think I may have used it to grant someone’s wish at some point, but that’s it.” Luz paused, taking a moment to trace over the pattern of the watch with her thumb. “I don’t know why I’ve been experiencing so many nightmares lately. It feels like that voice inside my head, the Harrow, is trying to tell me something. I just wish it would shut up for once.”

That was understandable. It was clear to anyone observant that Luz’s mental state was deteriorating. At this point, Amity considered the Harrow to be more of a parasite than a split personality. She wasn’t a qualified expert on this sort of topic, but she’d studied enough to know what was going on. She remembered something she’d read about this in a Healing tome.

_ Nothing is more dangerous to a witch than being alone with their thoughts. If they stay like that for too long, it can lead to destructive consequences, both to them and the people around them. _

Amity wasn’t sure how to get the Harrow to shut up, or how to deal with that at all. But she did know how to make Luz feel better, and that was where they needed to start.

“Luz, I can’t say that I know what it’s like to go through something like that, because I don’t. What I do know is that you aren’t alone.” She waited for Luz to look at her before continuing. “You have me, Edric and Emira, and even Willow and Gus might become your friends. I promise you that we’ll do anything and everything in our power to make you feel better. And that starts with a sleepover.” 

Soon enough, the twins returned with everything that Amity asked for, including a tent. She figured staying in the cabin would be a bad idea for tonight, so she decided that the two of them would camp outside for the night. She took the opportunity to do some stargazing with Luz, showing her some of the constellations. They were sitting in a comfortable silence, looking up at the stars when Luz spoke once more.

“The strangest part is that I’m not sure how to feel about it. I know it wasn’t me who killed that witch, but it was my body, my glyphs on my skin, that did it.” She brought her hands up to her face, and she stared deeply into them. “It’s… weird, for lack of a better word, to know that I once had the power to take someone’s life. I think the worst part is that I sometimes wonder if I still do, now that I’m primarily using paper to cast spells.”

Amity thought about that for a second, her eyes never leaving the sky. “Well, the truth is that everyone has the power to take a life, even if they don’t realize it.” She furrowed her brows in thought. “There’s always going to be someone stronger than us, smarter than us, or better than us in some way that will give them the power to defeat us. Not a single person on the Isles, not even the emperor, is invincible.” Her hand grasped Luz’s. They finally looked at each other. While Luz wore an expression of wonder, Amity was pretty sure her own face was something closer to fondness.

Silence passed between them, but Luz was able to tell what Amity was saying to her. Her strength wasn’t a sign of her ability to kill, but was instead a testament to how far she’d come. Even if she was still kind of getting used to using paper for her glyphs again, Amity and her siblings had noticed how strong of a witch Luz was. Even if she was a human.

Despite not feeling like crying, Luz noticed tears beginning to fall from her cheeks. Amity outstretched her arms towards Luz, and she took the invitation happily. The two of them laid in the grass, content to sit down there beneath the stars.

The next time Amity saw Willow and Gus was during lunch at school the day after their meeting with Luz. They were definitely having an in-depth discussion over yesterday’s events, as neither of them seemed to really notice Amity come over and sit down.

“Honestly,” Gus said, “she seems like a really nice person. She even gave me a human nickname! What more could I have asked for? Now I have a reliable source of information for my club meetings!”

Willow nodded along. “It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. She was a little secretive on some parts, but I enjoyed myself.” She turned her attention to Amity. “What did you think of Luz, Amity?”

She pondered the question for a moment, making sure to choose her words carefully. “She seems nice enough. A little weird, but she  _ is  _ a human. That could just be how they all are.” Amity took a sip of her drink before continuing. “Maybe we should go back and visit again sometime. She did say she wouldn’t mind, right?”

“She did. She kinda looked like she could use the company. I can’t imagine you get a lot of visitors looking to just have a nice conversation when your a powerful wish-granter.” Willow’s brows then furrowed, as if she was deep in thought. “There was something… off about Luz, though.”

Amity tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

There was a small bit of silence before Willow elaborated on her thought. “It’s hard to describe… If I had to put it into words, it was like there was this dark cloud surrounding her, preventing her from being too happy. I couldn’t really notice it at first, but it seemed more prominent as time went on.” Willow hesitated, as if afraid to utter her next sentence. “It felt like there was something just slightly behind Luz, staring at me, watching my every move.”

The statements left Amity confused. There was nothing ever behind Luz at all, unless some invisible demon managed to sneak in. But if one did, why would it just watch without doing anything to the children? Maybe it was a ghost? Amity didn’t feel the trademark cold of one, though. What else could it have been?

Unless… The idea was rather far fetched, but could Willow be talking about the Harrow? 

Amity then remembered something strange she’d once heard. When a witch’s emotions begin to spiral out of control, it can cause something to develop inside of them. It would feed thoughts into their head, speaking to them, if that was possible. If given enough magic, time and emotions, it could develop into an alternate personality entirely.

Of course, this phenomena had only been observed a few times since the Savage Ages, so the details of it haven’t been fully studied. There was a lot that the residents of the Isles didn’t know. What they did know was that, with a type of magic to view the brain, this alternate personality would sometimes look like a dark cloud overcoming the witch. Thus, the condition was called the ‘identity cloud’.

It was crazy, but could this be what was happening to Luz? Was the Harrow really developing into an entirely separate entity from her? It had such a different personality from Luz. A different worldview, a different…  _ everything.  _ It couldn’t just be some character Luz made up, not with how distinct it was.

But in Amity’s opinion, the alternative was much more terrifying. That the Harrow was Luz’s real personality, and ‘Luz’ was a front she put on just to pretend she wasn’t hurting.

Amity knew her better than that, though. Luz wasn’t the kind of person to do that. Unfortunately, that meant that the Harrow really was beginning to take its own little form in the human’s head. 

That was another problem with this whole situation. At the end of the day, Luz was a human, not a witch. Even if she’d been told that humans can develop something called ‘dissociative identity disorder’, it didn’t sound like it affected them in the same way the identity cloud did. Mostly. So what would happen to Luz if her identity cloud fully developed? Amity shuddered at the thought, but there was no denying that she’d have to do something about it. To do that, however, she’d need to learn more about it. And right now, Amity could only think of one person who knew more about it than anyone else.

It was truly unfortunate, but Amity would have to speak about this with Lilith Clawthorne.

Days passed, and Luz’s nightmares weren’t as bad as they once were. She’d begun to accept that the things she did as the Harrow couldn’t be undone, and she would have to live with that. Of course, that didn’t mean she couldn’t go through life being down about it all the time. She was beginning to feel something she hadn’t really felt in a long time--happiness.

Luz took time to wander through the forest around her home. She discovered a newfound fascination in the Demon Realm and wanted to explore every inch of it. It reminded her of when she read the first  _ Azura  _ book. The way the author had described every bit of it so vividly made Luz think that they were simply writing down the things they had experienced themselves. It made Luz want to explore that world herself--a world full of magic, mystical creatures, and wonder.

There was so much Luz wanted to see, and so much she got to see. A small fairy chased her a fair distance around the woods, demanding to extract her bone marrow. A large creature in a lake not far from the forest was singing a song, and became bashful when Luz complemented its voice.

It was strange to Luz. She’d lived in the Demon Realm for almost a year now, but she felt like she didn’t really know much about it. Sure, there were the lessons Lilith would teach her while she was still imprisoned in the Emperor’s Castle, but she was so miserable there that very little of the information truly registered in Luz’s head.

Of course, that didn’t matter now. Amity, Edric and Emira were always more than willing to teach her some things about the Boiling Isles. She got to learn what kinds of demons were native to the forest she lived in, how Bonesborough was founded, and even some things about the Titan. She was having so much fun learning everything that she’d almost forgotten about her nightmares.

But there was one that stood out to her. The very brief dream she had before Amity arrived for their sleepover. The dream where the Harrow spoke to her. It reminded Luz of when she would year its voice inside her head, yet it brought upon an entirely new sensation.

Luz now had a face to match with the voice. The weirder part of that is that the face was her own. The voice was her own, as well, but Luz had always known it wasn’t really her speaking or thinking. It held hints of sarcasm, anger, and general rudeness to it. She was able to tell when it was the Harrow thinking, and not  _ her _ .

But realizing that the Harrow personified itself as Luz was slightly scary. When she looked at the Harrow, Luz could still see its defining traits prominent on its face. A smirk, half-lidded eyes, head and nose tilted up. The Harrow looked down on everything else around it, Luz included. That wasn’t really the issue, however.

Luz imagined what it would be like if the Harrow wasn’t just some entity inside her head; if it was an actual person, walking around on the Isles. Aside from the scars covering its body, it’d be nearly identical to Luz herself. If it covered the glyphs with clothing, then would people be able to tell the difference?

She briefly considered whether or not it was better that she was the only one who could ‘see’ the Harrow. On one hand, it meant that Luz was the only one who could hear its rather violent or aggressive tendencies, the only one who had to put up with it feeding awful ideas into her head. Even if it was slowly growing more and more quiet, it was still prominent in her mind. And it was occasionally frustrating that she was the only one who could hear it. It sometimes made her feel like no one else would really understand why she was in such a bad mood.

On the other hand, it meant that no one else had to hear it. Sure, the voice was smug, sarcastic, and overall  _ rude _ , but it was still  _ her  _ voice, just with a different tone. One could easily misinterpret the Harrow’s thoughts as her own, especially if they weren’t familiar with the rumors at all. There’s no way that Luz would’ve come as far as she did on her journey to healing if she was still so rude to everyone. Especially with Amity.

Perhaps it was for the best, then.

Lilith was surprised when Amity asked to speak to her. The younger witch figured that was fair--ever since Luz told Amity what Lilith had done to her during her time in the Emperor’s Castle, Amity was rather distant and cold whenever she was conversing with Lilith.

Thankfully, the leader of the Emperor’s Coven was more than willing to indulge with Amity, particularly about one of her favorite topics to research. The identity cloud was something that’s supposedly existed on the Isles for a long time. Due to how bad conditions were during the Savage Ages, though, they couldn’t really research it much until Emperor Belos took control.

So, Lilith was excited to be sitting with Amity in the living room of Blight Manor. The younger witch had a pencil and paper laid out before her on a coffee table. Lilith felt that this was more of an interview than a study session, but she couldn’t complain.

“I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to me about this, Miss Clawthorne.” Amity was less than excited about this. Not only did she hate to use her familial connections with the Emperor’s Coven to get a favor from its leader, but she had to speak with Lilith, of all people. She was well aware of what the coven leader had done while Luz was still trapped in the Emperor’s Castle, and held a silent resentment for the witch because of it.

She was also unhappy about missing out on a meeting with Luz today. Willow and Gus had already told her that they were going to visit the human after school, and even if she couldn’t express her love for Luz, Amity still enjoys every moment she shares with her girlfriend.

However, she figured that learning how to help Luz get rid of the Harrow once and for all would be worth it. And Amity knew better than anyone that any published studies or books only tell half the story. Lilith knew more about the identity fog better than anyone, so she must know of a way to cure it, as well.

“Of course, Amity. I’m always happy to talk to you. Though, I am curious, what brought this up? You never seemed like the kind of witch interested in psychology.”

_ There it is.  _ Amity had been anticipating that question. Lilith was right, after all--if it hadn’t been someone she cared about, Amity probably wouldn’t have cared much about this topic. Of course, circumstances called for it.

“Oh, it’s for a school project. We’re studying how emotions can affect a witch’s magic, and the identity cloud came up. The teacher offered extra credit for whoever could do a presentation on it, and it sounded interesting, so I figured I’d give it a shot.” She scribbled something onto her paper. “Let’s start with the basics, shall we? What is the ‘identity cloud’?

Lilith thought for a moment before responding. “Well, the identity cloud is the result of a witch’s negative emotions spiraling out of control. It develops into its own personality, but can’t do much besides speak to whoever it’s inside of.” A pause. “The danger comes if the person with the cloud listens to it. Though we’ve had limited research, the ideas we’ve seen these clouds produce are rather… violent.”

Amity stopped writing and glanced up at Lilith. “Violent?”

“Well… I suppose it’s more of what the cloud sees as ‘therapeutic’. All the built up frustration it gathers causes it to want to take it out on something else. It’s usually just verbal abuse towards whatever may be causing its host problems, but there are certain cases where it wants nothing but physical violence.”

Amity chewed on her pencil. One of those words stuck out to her. “You say ‘host’, almost like you’re comparing the identity cloud to a parasite.”

A sigh escaped Lilith’s mouth. “That’s about what it is. An identity cloud develops into its own entity early on, and grows stronger by feeding off the negative emotions of the witch or demon who manifested it. That doesn’t mean it leaves only happy emotions for its host, though. The cloud somehow amplifies the emotions it eats and sends them back into the host’s mind, overpowering whatever happiness or positive emotions they’re feeling.”

_ A parasite that intensifies negative emotions. It sounds like what Luz could be going through. But then… _

“So what happens if a person doesn’t feel any negative emotions? What if they’re happy, or content, or anything positive?” Amity furrowed her brows. “It sounds like the cloud would just die off without any negativity to feed off of.”

Lilith nodded. “Yes, that’s true. While we’ve never observed any identity clouds completely die from a lack of negative emotions, it’s clear that they do weaken.”

_ Wait, what?  _ “What do you mean by ‘never observed’?”

“Well, as far as we know, it’s simply never happened before.” When Lilith saw Amity’s surprised look, she continued. “Our observations have found that the cloud forces its host to face negative emotions to prevent itself from dying. This can come in the form of anything, but is usually a dream or nightmare.”

_ Nightmares? Then is Luz really…  _ As much as Amity didn’t want it to be true--as much as she wanted Luz to just be suffering from something minor, it seemed like her worse suspicions were true.

The Harrow wasn’t just a split personality. It was an identity cloud.

_ I guess I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting, but still. This is bad.  _ Amity felt her nerves begin to give way to the anxiety building up in her chest as her mind went into overdrive.

_ What do I do? Casually stroll up to Luz and tell her ‘hey, turns out the Harrow is actually a parasite feeding off your negative emotions and is making your life a living hell’? That wouldn’t work out at all. _

Lilith seemed to pick up on Amity’s distress. “This feels like more than just research for a school assignment, Amity. Is there someone you know who may be suffering from an identity cloud?”

Amity quickly snapped out of her thoughts. “No!” Lilith jumped back slightly at Amity’s outburst, and the younger witch felt that her sudden shout did nothing to erase Lilith’s suspicions. She cleared her throat before continuing. “I mean, no, there isn’t, I’m just… confused. Is there any way to completely get rid of it?”

At the question, Lilith’s energy seemed to shift. “Well, there is, but this method has only been tested three times, as it’s incredibly dangerous to all those who participate.” 

“How so?” Amity knew this questioning period was purely to get rid of the Harrow once and for all, but Amity couldn’t help leaning forward slightly, her curiosity piqued.

“The person with the identity cloud must allow it to take control of the body first. Already, you can probably tell the potential danger in this method.”

Lilith was certainly right about that. Even if it was only until they could get rid of it, letting the Harrow have any control over Luz’s body was way too dangerous. Then again, Luz had left control of her body to the Harrow before. Sometimes involuntarily, but Amity was pretty sure there were times when she was aware of what the Harrow was doing. She’d have to confirm it with Luz, though.

“Next, there’s a spell that exists to expel the cloud from the body once its assumed full control. The spell must be cast within five minutes, however, or else the process will fail. We’re not entirely sure why, but the current hypothesis is that the cloud has too much of a hold on its host after those five minutes that it’s impossible to remove it.”

“And if the spell isn’t cast, then the cloud gains complete control over the body. Am I right?”

Lilith gave Amity a proud smile, telling her that her guess was correct. Even if Amity had grown distant from Lilith, she was still her mentor, and she appreciated seeing her student show off her intelligence.

Amity, however, was only more worried. If any bit of this ritual went wrong, if Amity even goes through with it, then it was possible that Luz would be gone forever. She’d have to be absolutely sure of how to cast the spell and how it worked in order to properly save Luz.

_ But if I ask Lilith directly what the spell is, she’d definitely get suspicious. Which means I’ll have to talk to someone in the Healer’s Coven about this. Someone who won’t tell my parents, Lilith or anyone else who could completely ruin this for me. _

_ The only people I can think of like that are still students at Hexside, though. I wonder if they’ve even learned about the identity cloud in the Healing track yet. _

“Well, that’s really all the questions I had. Thank you, Miss Lilith. I appreciate you going out of your way to help me with my research.” Despite Amity’s boiling hatred for Lilith, she could still appreciate anyone as busy as her taking time out of their day to answer some questions. Besides, she was always taught to be polite to anyone, even if it was someone who’d experimented on her girlfriend.

Lilith offered Amity a friendly smile. “It’s no trouble, Amity, I assure you. I’m glad you’re taking such an interest in abstract concepts such as the cloud, even as an Abominations witch. I hope to see you again soon.” Lilith soon left, leaving Amity alone in the living room at Blight Manor.

Seconds after Lilith’s departing, Edric and Emira came down the stairs, making it apparent that the twins were listening in on their conversation.

“Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, we’re pretty sure Luz has an identity cloud, right?” Edric glanced between his two sisters, sensing their unspoken agreement to his statement. “Okay, now all we need to do is figure out whatever that spell is, and we’re golden.”

Edric was certainly right on that. Honestly, when he put it like that, Amity thought it sounded pretty easy. However, at this point, it wasn’t about whether something was easy or not.

Luz was in danger, that much was obvious. And Amity was willing to do anything to make sure she was safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright gang, I got good news, bad news, then good news again.  
> The first good news is that a big thing that was keeping me busy and tired and feeling like dying is pretty much over, now. This means that I'll have more time to work on this story, right?  
> Well, then comes the bad news, which is I have another big stressful thing comin up, which means I won't be able to get started on the next chapter until I finish that. I mean, I could, but I'd like to focus on that, first.  
> The second good news is that it'll only be for a week, and soon enough, I'll be back to writing. And on a surprising third good note, I now have a basic outline of this story, which is something I should've done before I started writing it at all. Ah, well. Live and learn.  
> Anyway: Comments, kudos and bookmarks are much appreciated! Seriously, you have no idea how good they make me feel. I love seeing what everyone has to say about my works! Love y'all!  
> Next time: Amity learns a spell, and makes a confession.


End file.
